Report: 2023 Midyear Meeting of the ABA House of Delegates

BY WILLIAM D. JOHNSTON, ESQUIRE

This is my report on the 2023 Midyear Meeting of the ABA House of Delegates. The meeting took place in New Orleans on February 6 and was in-person only (not hybrid). With your hoped-for indulgence, I offer some highlights of what once again was a very successful meeting during which the business of the House was accomplished.

The Delaware Delegation

As I’ve noted in previous reports, the House of Delegates is the principal policy-making body of the ABA. For the most recent meeting, the Delaware Delegation included The Honorable William C. Carpenter, Jr., Delegate-atLarge and immediate past member of the ABA Board of Governors; Ben Strauss, DSBA Bar Delegate; Lauren DeLuca, DSBA Young Lawyer Bar Delegate; John “Jack” Hardin Young, Senior Lawyers Division Delegate; and yours truly, State Delegate. The Delaware Delegation thanks Judge Carpenter, on the occasion of his recent retirement from the bench, for his distinguished service as a member of the Superior Court of the State of Delaware and for his decades of public service (including serving as U.S. Attorney for Delaware). We look forward to his continued service in the House.

Remarks from ABA Officers and Others

During the session of the House, as is typical, we heard from ABA officers and others. Speakers included Chair of the House Gene Vance, ABA President Deborah Enix-Ross, ABA Treasurer

Kevin Shepherd, ABA Secretary Pauline Weaver, ABA, ABA President-Elect Nominee Bill Bay, and ABA Executive Director Jack Rives.

We also heard from the President of the Conference of Chief Justices, Loretta H. Rush, Chief Justice of the Indiana Supreme Court.

Resolutions Adopted by the House

The House adopted a variety of resolutions and, in doing so, articulated ABA policy embodying the substance of each resolution.

As I’ve previously reported, the House Rules of Procedure require that a resolution must advance one or more of the ABA’s four goals in order to be germane. Those co-equal goals, adopted by the House in 2008, are: (i) serve our members; (ii) improve our profession, (iii) eliminate bias and enhance diversity, and (iv) advance the rule of law. Also adopted by the House in 2008 is the ABA’s mission statement: “To serve equally our members, our profession and the public by defending liberty and delivering justice as the national representative of the legal profession.”

The House did not concur in the action of the Council of the Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar in making amendments to Standards 501 and 503 of the ABA Standards and Rules of Procedure for Approval of Law Schools (Resolution 300). Most notably, those amendments would have made the LSAT on optional consideration for law schools.

In addition, adopted resolutions with ABA sections, divisions, forums, and other entities taking the sponsorship lead addressed the following: the creation of policies and practices to improve the treatment of persons living with dementia who are involved in the criminal justice system (600); possession of firearms on property owned, operated, or controlled by any public or private institutions of higher education (603); design, development, deployment, and use of artificial intelligence systems and capabilities (604); application of state separation-of-powers principles, in state constitutions, to the elections of members of Congress (605); and any questions, in bar admission applications, that ask about sexual orientation or gender identity (606).

Other adopted resolutions with ABA sections and other entities taking the sponsorship lead addressed: ABA policy that opposes federal agencies adopting standards of practice to govern the professional conduct of attorneys (500); the Ten Principles to Achieve Gender Equity in the Criminal Legal Profession (501); the use of stigmatizing and inhumane labels to refer to people who are or have been involved in the criminal legal system (502); the e-APP (e-Apostilles and e-Registers) program (503); the American Bar Association Best Practices for Remote Depositions (505); the unlawful invasion of Ukraine by the Russian Federation (506); laws, restrictions, and other measures placed on civil society actors that are inconsistent with international law (507); a wildlife crime protocol (508); disaster preparedness for farmers and other animal producers who seek federal government funding (509); attempts to impose medical or surgical intervention on minors with intersex traits without the minor’s informed consent (511); a person’s right to refuse unwanted medical treatment (512); the right of any individual to travel interstate to access medical care (513); anti-semitism and measures to combat it (514); and participation of junior lawyers in courtroom proceedings (515).

ABA entities and others also took the lead in sponsoring resolutions that addressed: approval of the Uniform Commercial Code Amendments promulgated by the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws (701); approval of the Uniform Electronic Estate Planning Act promulgated by the National Conference (702); and obtaining or accessing beneficial ownership information (704).

Finally, bar associations took the lead in sponsoring three resolutions adopted by the House: urging the U.S. Supreme Court to adopt a code of ethics binding on the Court (400); adopting a bench card for addressing best practices for judges in using inclusive language and pronouns in the courtroom (401); and removing racial and ethnic symbols of the Confederate States of America and depictions of Confederate leaders from any facilities in which judicial proceedings are held (402).

For a detailed description of each resolution (and of other resolutions considered by the House or withdrawn from consideration at the Midyear Meeting), please see www.americanbar.org.

As I’ve noted previously, the practical effect of the House of Delegates adopting policy, as reflected in the above resolutions, is that elected officers of the Association, staff, and volunteer leaders are then authorized to advocate those policy positions — whether with legislators, courts, or others. This, importantly, can translate into grassroots advocacy in Washington (such as the annual ABA Day on Capitol Hill) and in state legislatures to urge, for example, increased funding of legal services for the poor through the Legal Services Corporation.

Membership

As I’ve reported on previously, the ABA pursued a broad-based effort to study how best to deliver value to ABA members. The thoughtful, resulting recommendation, endorsed by the Board of Governors and adopted by the House, included simplifying dues- paying cat egories and reducing dues, and other benefits.

In particular, the current dues structure has new bar admittees through fourth year attorneys paying $75, fifth through ninth year attorneys paying $150, tenth through fourteenth year attorneys paying $250, fifteenth through nineteenth year attorneys paying $350, and twenty-plus year attorneys paying $450. At the same time, government, solo, and small firm attorneys, as well as retirees, pay $150. Paralegals pay $75, affiliated professionals pay $150, and international lawyer members pay $150. In addition, law firms and other legal employers can achieve even greater savings by enrolling in the ABA’s “ full firm membership” program. (I’m happy to say that YCST continues to be a proud participant in that program.)

As I’ve urged before, if you currently are an ABA member but are not yet engaged in the work of ABA sections, divisions, or forums (and their respective committees and subcommittees), please consider increased involvement. And, if you currently are not an ABA member, please consider joining (or re-joining) as a complement to your DSBA membership. I and other members of the Delaware Delegation would be delighted to discuss with you all of the opportunities that ABA membership presents.

Personal Note

I am pleased to share that, during the Midyear Meeting, I was introduced as a candidate for Chair of the House of Delegates for the 2024-26 term. I am grateful for the encouragement that I have received from fellow members of the Delaware Bar and beyond. Please share with me, at any time, your thoughts as to how the House of Delegates and, more broadly, the American Bar Asso - ciation, can be responsive to your and your clients’ needs and can faithfully live into the mission of the ABA and its four goals.

It continues to be my privilege and pleasure to serve as your State Delegate to the ABA House of Delegates. The House will next meet August 7-8 during the 2023 ABA Annual Meeting in Denver. As always, if you have any questions or comments, please let me know at wjohnston@ycst.com or (302) 571-6679.

Bill Johnston is a partner with Young Conaway Stargatt & Taylor, LLP. He is a Past President of the Delaware State Bar Association, serves in the ABA House of Delegates as State Delegate from Delaware, is a Former Chair of the ABA Business Law Section, and is a Past President of the American Counsel Association.